Flavor & Fragrance Appointments
Flavor & Fragrance Specialties of Mahwah, New Jersey, has made the following appointments: Tom Ryan, perfumer - educated as an analytical chemist, Ryan has over 15 years experience in the fragrance and flavor industries and was previously with Takasago; Reneta Kvantas, perfumer - has six years experience as a junior perfumer and candle chemist. She was previously with Bell Flavors & Fragrances and Alene Candles; and Tina Synder, lab technician - She joins the FFS fragrance labs from Robertet.

Roberts Rejoins Flavor Dynamics
Colleen Roberts has recently rejoined Flavor Dynamics, Inc. in South Plainfield, New Jersey, as their new director of sales.

Roberts began her career with Flavor Dynamics as a customer service manager before moving onto Melchers Flavors of America and Sensient Technologies. “Colleen brings with her an extensive knowledge of the day-to-day needs of coffee roasters that will help us continue to grow while maintaining our reputation for customer service and quality products,” says company president Dolf DeRovira.

Fres-co Adds to Sales
Fres-co System USA, Inc. has added of Bruce Ped to its sales team as account manager for the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. His primary focus is the coffee marketplace with additional responsibilities for development of the industrial and dry food markets for Fres-co.

Ped comes to Fres-co with 17 years of packaging experience and has worked with many leading coffee and food companies in the western U.S.; he has been instrumental in the launch of several new product lines with major food producers that have gained both national and international recognition.

McCormack Joins Mukilteo Coffee
Tim McCormack has accepted a position as partner at specialty coffee roaster Mulkiteo Coffee. McCormack, one of the original Starbucks roasters, had over 25 years experience in the Pacific Northwest specialty coffee industry when he joined Starbucks in 1979. During his eight years at Starbucks, McCormack’s responsibilities included: coffee roasting and roasting supervision, blending and quality control, researching and writing advertising and training materials, employee training, and the purchasing of teas, herbs spices and flavorings. His position upon leaving was coffee manager.

When Starbucks changed hands in 1987, McCormack opted to take a position as vice president of Starbucks’ newly independent wholesale division, Caravali Coffees, where he supervised construction of the roasting plant as well as performing many of the previous duties he had at Starbucks.

In 1997, McCormack launched Zoka Coffee house in Seattle where he helped design and build the shop, trained and managed staff and purchased commodities and merchandise for the company. He left Zoka in 2002 and has been consulting in the coffee and tea fields.

Gary Smith founded Mukilteo Coffee in 1983. Joined by his wife, Beth, and partner Jerry Kaloper in 1992, the company follows an artisan approach to coffee roasting. “We are ecstatic to have Tim on board,” says Smith. “ His experience in sourcing the finest quality beans and innovative blending techniques are a perfect complement to the tradition of roasting excellence we have been striving for over the years at Mukilteo Coffee.”

John Conti Promotions
John Conti, a Kentucky-based roaster has made the following promotions: Melissa Payne has been promoted to administrator of accounts receivable. She has been with the company for 17 years. Chris Bonn has been promoted to office coffee sales territory manager and has been with the company since 1999.

Bunn Names Johnson
Bunn-O-Matic, manufacturers of beverage equipment, has named Steve Johnson as national accounts manager - cold drink. He will work out of Tampa, Florida. Johnson has 19 years of foodservice experience including 18 years in the beverage segment. He was most recently the national account manager for Lipton Foodservice Beverages.

Obituaries:
C. Hans von Gimborn, November 20, 2003, age 80.
C. Hans von Gimborn was a long-standing partner and chairman of the board of PROBAT-WERKE von Gimborn Maschinenfabrik GmbH. C. Hans von Gimborn was in many ways an extraordinary entrepreneur. His ambitious drive for success and determination were key in making the Emmericher Maschinenfabrik a worldwide successful PROBAT Group.

C. Hans von Gimborn was born on July 23, 1923 to Carl von Gimborn in Emmerich. At the time, the Emmericher Maschinenfabrik & Eisengiesserei van Gülpen, Lensing & von Gimborn (today “PROBAT-Werke”) was already 55 years old. Von Gimborn’s grandfather, Theodor von Gimborn, co-founded the company in 1868.

C. Hans von Gimborn spent his youth between the first and second world wars. After leaving grammar school in 1942, he was immediately conscripted to military service. In October 1945, he returned to Emmerich to recuperate after being wounded, where he found a city in ruins. Together with his father and several helpers, he took part in the reconstruction of the first PROBAT office and production site. He then took up apprenticeship at a shipbuilding company in Cologne and subsequently acquired further professional experience at a company based on the Lower Rhine. His next stop was London, where his main interest was in banking. In 1950, he travelled to North America, Mexico and Central American coffee countries before returning to Emmerich in 1951. As his father’s assistant, he contributed to shaping the development of PROBAT from this time onwards. C. Hans von Gimborn soon became responsible for sales within PROBAT in English-speaking countries.

In 1968 - precisely on the 100th anniversary of the company - his father retired as managing director of PROBAT and C. Hans von Gimborn became general manager in charge of all PROBAT activities. He managed the company for a quarter of a century and, trading under the name PROBAT, made the company a worldwide leading manufacturer of coffee roasting plants. Under his management, company turnover increased 36-fold. Like his father before him, he too retired from the company shortly after a major company anniversary - the 125th in 1993. C. Hans von Gimborn subsequently became chairman of the board of PROBAT Holding and co-proprietor of Messrs Kirsch & Mausser, Engineering Company, a firm specializing in the development and manufacture of all types of machinery. The birth of the company’s own Museum for Coffee Technology was also due to him.

Most important to C. Hans von was his family. In 1954, he married Roberta Falout-van Schaik, who died in 1982. Between 1955 and 1966, they had five children: Johanna, Jacoba, Carolin, Peter and Ernestine. In 1989, C. Hans von Gimborn married his second wife Doris.

The life of C. Hans von Gimborn was characterised by offices and distinctions: chairman of the VDMA (1977 - 1986), second chairman of the Employers’ Association on the Ruhr and Lower-Rhine (1970-1991), vice president of IHK Duisburg (1982-1997), Dutch Consul (1983 -1994), received the highest order of the Federal Republic of Germany (1983), officer in the order of Oranien-Nassau, Holland (1992), medal of the Euregio Rhein-Waal (2001).

At the time of his passing, he was working on a book about the history of coffee roasting machinery, “Nota Bene: Coffee Roasting Machines” which is now available through the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

Peter Kühn, October 20, 2003, age 66.
Peter Kühn was a member of the board of directors of Gebrüder Wollenhaupt GmbH, importers of tea and vanilla, since 1962.

Kühn became involved in the tea industry early. When he was a young man, his mother liked to have a cup of coffee each morning, but he did not enjoy it as much as she did. He thought there must be some other kind of beverage and became enthusiastic when he tried his first cup of Darjeeling tea. In the next couple decades, he became thoroughly educated about and familiar with all things tea, including the large international tea family. In the 1960’s, Kühn found it was a challenge for him to explore new types of tea, in particular, instant flavored teas, and subsequently joined Gebrüder Wollenhaupt, which was working on such things. Kühn spent the next 40 years fostering the growth of the company, and retired from his position last year, though he continued to stay very involved with the company he dedicated so much to.

Kuhn was awarded “Person of the Year” from the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal and was active in many international tea organizations and conferences.